Wayland Town Center is up for sale

Thursday

Jul 10, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Michael WynerDaily News Staff

WAYLAND – The soon-to-be 191,000-square-foot Wayland Town Center is officially for sale, but town officials assure the special permit and development agreements due to the town will remain in place with a new owner.CBRE, which describes itself as a global leader in real estate services and investment, will be handling the transaction but isn't listing a sale price."Once qualified investors have had an opportunity to thoroughly review the Offering Memorandum, CBRE will schedule a call for offers," according to a pamphlet released by the firm.Joseph Harnan, director of leasing and marketing for KGI Properties, an entity of current owner Twenty Wayland, had no comment on Wednesday morning about the sale.Wayland Town Planner Sarkis Sarkisian expects CBRE will not have a problem finding a buyer."Wayland is a well-established suburb in the heart of MetroWest," Sarkisian said.Indeed, CBRE’s brochure points out that the mix of stores and medical offices is surrounded by an affluent population, with an average household income exceeding $190,000 within a 1-mile radius.Sarkisian said the new owner will still be responsible for the special permit and development agreements already signed with the town."The conditions run with the land," he said. "The development agreement has different items due to the town at certain points, and this is all documented. It will not be a surprise to the new owner."Joe Nolan, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said the impending sale is "not necessarily a surprise.""This is private property. At any stage it could be sold, and we understood that," Nolan said.Wayland Town Center is anchored by a 45,000-square-foot Stop & Shop, with other tenants including Unleashed by Petco, Boston Sports Club, and the restaurants Bertucci’s and The Local.Wayland Town Center also includes about 17,000 square feet of medical offices, with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as the largest tenant, and 12 second-floor apartments. About 87 percent of the site has been leased."At delivery, Wayland Town Center was the first project of its kind to be built in the region in over a decade and was the culmination of a seven-year planning and permitting effort," according to CBRE.Sarkisian said the next phase of the project, comprising 32,500 square feet of retail space across from Subway, still needs to go through permitting.Sarkisian has heard discussions that a hardware store may take up 15,000 square feet of that new building, which he believes would make a "great tenant."Additional housing units are possible above the hardware store but would require an amendment to the special permit, because they are not allowed "by right," according to Sarkisian.Future planning issues for Town Center include collecting the $250,000 gift from the developer for a bike trail, and securing grants for sidewalks along adjacent Rte. 20."We want some connectivity from Wayland’s old town center to the new Town Center," Sarkisian said. "We’re still working on that."In addition, Sarkisian said various town boards are aiming to resolve complications involving sewage.In June 2013, a Middlesex Superior Court ruling said the town is under contract with Twenty Wayland to provide 45,000 gallons per day of sewer capacity. The town was found liable for damages in the amount of approximately $1 million, plus over $200,000 in interest. The town is appealing the decision.In addition, a group of small businesses and residents who believe they are footing too high a percentage of the bill for the $5.6 treatment plant has threatened its own litigation.Nolan said town officials are working to "provide some equity to everybody" involved in the matter.Overall, Nolan said the community is excited about how Town Center has turned out, with the commercial taxes helping to relieve the residential tax burden."Ten years ago, this was a polluted site with abandoned Raytheon buildings. Now it’s a place where people can gather to eat and shop," he said."My daughter’s friends are working there. I’d say there’s been a couple hundred jobs created there," he said.Michael Wyner can be reached at 508-626-4441 or mwyner@wickedlocal.com. Find Wayland news throughout the day at @WaylandCrier.

Market Place

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA ~ 33 New York Ave., Framingham, MA 01701 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service